A federal government run by New Democrats would immediately bring Canadian
troops home from Syria and Iraq, ending this country’s role in the U.S.-led
mission against the Islamic State months before its military commitment expires,
party leader Thomas Mulcair says.

The pledge sets Mr. Mulcair and the NDP apart from both the Conservatives and
the Liberals, who say Canada must continue to play a part in the fight against
the radical Sunni Islamist group, also known as ISIS or ISIL, which has shocked
the world with its brutality.

NDP government would pull military out of Iraq: Thomas Mulcair (CP Video)

Mr. Mulcair has been consistent in his determination to withdraw the roughly
600 Canadian soldiers who are taking part in an air war against the jihadists in
Iraq and Syria, as well as 69 members of Canada’s special forces who are
training Kurdish fighters. While campaigning in Winnipeg on Thursday, he
clarified that the return would happen as soon as an NDP government takes
office, even though Canada has said it will stay until March of next year.

“We’ve been clear on that since Day One,” Mr. Mulcair said in response to
questions from a reporter. “We also know that there are things that we can and
should be doing with our allies, such as stopping the flow of foreign fighters,
stopping the flow of arms, stopping the flow of money to ISIS ... . We should be
doing something at home, which is combatting radicalization – something that
[Conservative Leader] Stephen Harper has failed to do.”

When asked how he would explain the early departure to Canada’s allies, Mr.
Mulcair said the fight against Islamic State is not being waged under the
auspices of a multilateral organization like the United Nations or NATO, and
that means this country may go its own way.

“This in an American-led mission,” he said. “Canada is free, we have our own
foreign policy, we will have an independent foreign policy under an NDP
government, and we will put an end to Canada’s participation in the combat
mission in Iraq and in Syria.”

Mr. Mulcair also said an NDP government would leave in place the 200 members
of Canada’s Armed Forces who have been sent to train Ukraine’s military in the
fight against Russian-backed rebels. Ukraine “is a completely different
situation,” he said. “I think that the training mission in Ukraine could and
should be able to continue.”

The U.S. battle against Islamic State began in Iraq a year ago, and Canada
joined in last October, initially agreeing to a six-month mission. That
commitment was renewed for one year, starting in March. The fight has been
expanded to Syria, where Canadian CF-18s are bombing IS positions.

Mr. Harper has dismissed the NDP’s position against the military mission as
deeply ideological, deeply wrong, and out of step with what Canadians believe.
When the Syrian refugee crisis became an election issue last week, the
Conservative Leader said the strikes against the Islamic State are imperative to
address the “root cause” of the exodus and to prevent the group from becoming an
established security threat to the world.

Liberal Party Leader Justin Trudeau, who has voiced opposition to the
air-strike campaign in Syria, accused the NDP Leader and the Conservative Leader
of adopting extreme approaches to the role of Canada’s military in Iraq and
Syria.

“We know that there is a role for military engagement in the fight against
the terrible terrorists that are ISIS, but we also know that there is a real
need for Canada to do more in addressing the humanitarian catastrophe befalling
so many in that region,” said Mr. Trudeau, who was campaigning in Vancouver on
Thursday. “That’s why we continue to be committed to both engaging militarily in
a training mission to help local troops help bring the fight directly to ISIS
and, at the same time, do much more on welcoming refugees and standing up for
humanitarian support.”

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